As the Covid-19 restrictions are slowly being lifted, my friends and I decided to get together for Chinese hotpot one evening a few weeks ago.
Chinese hot pot (火锅) is easy to prepare and fun to eat especially with a group of people. You can literally have it all year around.
What you need
- Hot pot equipment and supplies
- A split pot that allows you to serve two kinds of soup base. If you prefer smaller individual hotpots and can find them in your area, that also works.
- A portable stove
- Butane gas cartridges for the portable stove (it would be extremely disappointing when you are about to chow down on all the delicious food in front of you but realize you cannot light the portable stove. 😀 )
- Hot pot ladles
You should be able to purchase all of the above at your local Chinese grocery store or on Amazon.
- Soup bases
There is a variety of soup bases to choose from. The most common ones are:
- Sichuan Spicy
- Tomato
- Seafood
- Clear
Follow the instructions on the packages.
- Raw Ingredients
You can cook whatever you want to eat in the hot pot – meat, seafood, vegetables, eggs, tofu and other soy bean products, noodles and dumplings etc. Just be mindful not to overcook the ingredients.
- Dipping sauces
You can also buy dipping sauces in the hot pot section at your local Asian food market. But we prefer to make our own. I usually mix soy sauce, dark vinegar, peanut sauce (mix peanut butter with water) and hot sauce together.
Here is a video of our meal.
Instead of using the mussels for the hot pot, my friend decided to bake them in the oven. They are incredibly yummy.
It was a wonderful evening with fabulous food and company. Would love to do it again soon.
The Posh Foodie 